Remember the Time?
by Terlen
Summary: SG1 and Frank Parker cross paths, and wind up working together.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_Project Backstep, Area 51, Nevada_

Doctor Bradley Talmadge sat at his desk only half listening to the report his security chief Nathan Ramsey was making. Frank and the sphere were both missing. That meant there had been a Backstep. About a week from now he had once again given the order that would send Chrononaut Lieutenant Frank Parker back in time seven days to prevent some, as yet unknown, catastrophe. Frank hadn't made contact, yet, to inform them of his mission. Standard search protocols had been implemented to locate the Sphere, but so far they had come up empty. All he could do for the moment was wait for some word, chew on his unlit cigar, and let Nate go on about Parker's latest hijinks or shenanigans or whatever term he had chosen to use this time around.

The phone rang. Bradley put down his cigar and grabbed the receiver. "Talmadge."

"Sir, we have a 'Conundrum' call."

"Finally! Put it through."

_Stargate Command, Cheyenne Mountain Complex, Colorado about 2 hours earlier_

Warning lights flashed and alarms sounded throughout the SGC. "Unscheduled off-world activation," came the voice over the intercom. "General Hammond to the control room immediately!"

"Report!" Major General George Hammond called as he entered the control room.

"Sir! The Stargate just... 'came on' all by itself", the NCO at the console said as she continued typing commands. "There was no dialing or any kind of warning, and the iris won't close."

Hammond looked through the control room window at the Stargate. It looked like a vertical pool of shimmering water inside a gray stone ring, as it normally did. "Are we receiving any kind of transmission?"

"No, sir... Wait... We're receiving an IDC. Sir, it's... It's SG1?! How is that possible?"

"I don't know, but stop trying to close the iris just in case." Hammond stared at the screen with growing disbelief. He leaned down and keyed the console mic, "Stand ready, people. No matter who comes through that gate, take them into custody. That's an order."

Just as he finished speaking, four people fell out through the event horizon of the Stargate and rolled part way down the ramp. From where he stood they appeared to be the members of SG1. Then a fifth person followed, but this one was wearing what appeared to be an orange spacesuit with no markings and a white helmet. Several Marines, with weapons ready, moved in on them as soon as the wormhole had disconnected.

Colonel Jack O'Neill found himself face down on the ramp leading to the Stargate. He raised up enough to look around for his team. Teal'c was already on his feet. Carter and Daniel were starting to move.

"What the HELL was that?" He looked toward the gate, saw a man in an orange spacesuit, shook his head to clear any remaining cobwebs, and looked again. Nope, still there. "WHO the hell is that?" He could see a gash in the man's thigh and blood spurting from the wound. It suddenly didn't matter so much who the man was. He grabbed the material on both sides of the wound, applied as much pressure as he could to compress and close it, and yelled, "Medic!"

"Sir", Carter said from behind him, "I think we have other problems."

Jack looked around to see the rest of his team on their knees with their hands behind their heads. That's when he finally heard one of the armed troops ordering him to assume the same position. He turned back to the injured man. "Shoot me if you have to, Sergeant. If I let go of this wound, he'll probably bleed out before the medics can get him out of here." He looked over his shoulder to see guns still pointed at him. One of the men advanced to disarm him. He kept his hands firmly on the other man's wound, and watched silently as the rest of his team was also disarmed.

* * *

><p>Hammond entered the gate room as soon as the all clear was given. The medics wheeled the injured man, under guard, out past him to the infirmary. He looked the prisoners over carefully. Except for their hands being zip tied behind their backs, they looked every bit like the members of SG1.<p>

"Who are you? Where did you come from?"

"General", the one who appeared to be Jack spoke up, "We are SG1. We just came back from standard recon on P3X-318. Daniel has video of some ruins, if you'd like..."

"I'm sorry, I find that hard to believe." SG1 was currently taking some much needed time off, and the mission to 318 wasn't scheduled until next week. "Now, who is your friend in the spacesuit?"

"Sir, I have no idea who that man is or how he came out of our wormhole. He wasn't with us on 318."

"I think I know who he is, sirs", offered the one who appeared to be Major Samantha Carter, "But I'll need to see his face to be sure."

Hammond's gut told him these people were who they seemed to be, but he couldn't just ignore the unanswered questions their sudden appearance raised. "Sergeant, escort these people to the infirmary then confine them until I can get some answers."

* * *

><p>After almost two hours of phone calls and searches of several government databases, Hammond ordered the prisoners brought to him in the conference room. He was seated at the head of the table when the guards escorted them in, and he watched as they each took their seats.<p>

"I really do want to believe you people are who you appear to be. Doctor Frasier can't find anything out of the ordinary with any of you, but there are still a couple of loose ends - not the least of which is the man who came through the Stargate after you did."

"Have I ever lied to you, sir?", Jack asked with hands spread and eyebrows raised.

Hammond ignored the question and turned to Carter, "Major, you said you might be able to shed some light on this situation."

"Yes, sir. The injured man is Lieutenant Frank Parker, US Navy... among other agencies."

"I was informed as to his identity, and we've done some checking, but we can't find anything definite on him after he was sent to Hansen Island. What else can you add to that?"

Jack took notice at the mention of Hansen Island. It was supposedly a CIA mental facility, but some of the stories he had heard over the years led him to believe there was more to it.

Carter looked uneasy. "I... I'm not at liberty to say, sir, but I think I know who to contact."

"Please, explain", Hammond said. He knew this was going to lead to another covert government agency or project of some kind. He wondered what he was in for this time.

"I can't really go into detail, sir, but Frank was on a mission. Part of that mission would have required him to contact his superiors. I don't believe he had the opportunity to do that. I can make that phone call, and you can take it from there, sir."

"We'll use my office", he said as he stood up from the table. He motioned one of the guards over to the office door before closing it.

"Sir, I'll have to use a code word to speak directly to the person we need to contact", Carter said as she picked up the phone.

"Understood, Major. I'll just be over here admiring this picture for a minute."

Carter dialed the number, listened for a moment, and then spoke only one word, "Conundrum."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Frank? Where are you?" Talmadge snapped as soon as he heard the click of the call being transferred.

"Doctor Talmadge," Carter began, "This isn't Lieutenant Parker, sir. This is Major Samantha Carter."

"Samantha Carter? Where's Frank? Did he authorize you to make this call?"

"Not exactly, sir. He's safe in our facility. He was critically injured getting here, but our medical staff is treating him. He hasn't regained consciousness."

Talmadge cursed under his breath. "What facility, Major? Where?"

Carter looked at Hammond as he moved across the room to the side of the desk. "Sir, I'm not at liberty to give you that information any more than I am to give my Commanding Officer information about your operation. The two of you need to talk. I'll put General Hammond on the line, if you have no objection."

"Yes, of course, Major."

Carter handed the receiver to Hammond.

"This is Major General George Hammond, United States Air Force. To whom am I speaking?"

"This is Doctor Bradley Talmadge, NSA. General, you have one of my men in your facility, and I need him back."

"Doctor, your man entered a secure facility without authorization. I can't just hand him over on your say so."

"General," Talmadge said, taking a measured breath, "Is this line secure on your end?"

"It is."

"What I am about to tell you goes no further unless and until I get signed non-disclosure agreements from your people. Major Carter has already been cleared. I'm clearing you for only the information I'm about to give you."

"Understood." Hammond said as he sat down at his desk. He was curious to see where this would lead.

Talmadge proceeded to give Hammond the quick and dirty version of Project Backstep. He stressed the need to get whatever intel Parker had about his mission.

Hammond thought about what he had just heard. He understood the importance of getting that intel. "Doctor," he said after a moment, "How quickly can you get to Colorado Springs?"

* * *

><p>After hanging up the phone, Hammond stared at Carter for a moment. He knew that there would always be people under his command who had knowledge of ops and projects that he would never even hear rumors about. It had been that way since his first command. He had learned to accept it as a given. Hell, he had been one of those people more than once in his career. Suddenly having such knowledge dumped on his doorstep – especially when it involved someone as close and trusted as Carter – was just a little unsettling. He wasn't sure when, but they'd have a conversation about this. For now...<p>

"So. You really are SG1 coming off of a mission that you haven't left for yet?"

Carter nodded.

"Incredible."

"Yes, sir."

"Major, I'm betting you've already got a working theory to explain all of this."

Carter shifted in her chair. "Yes, sir, I do. I think Frank's launch trajectory must have intersected our incoming wormhole in just the right way and at just the right moment. Basically, the temporal displacement of his launch 'hijacked' our wormhole. Timewise, we were just along for the ride. I'm guessing the Sphere he used was destroyed, which caused his injuries. I'm still not sure how he came through the Stargate. I'd have to consult with Doctor Talmadge's people to help nail down some of the details."

"In due time, Major. Right now, let's see how our guest is doing, and get ready for our visitors."

* * *

><p>Hammond walked into the infirmary followed by SG1. Doctor Janet Frasier was tending to her patient. She hadn't bothered to change out of her surgical scrubs.<p>

"Report, Doctor." Hammond said, moving to the foot of the unconscious man's bed.

"I repaired the femoral artery, and the other damage to the leg. His internal injuries aren't that severe, but they are extensive. He's lucky he was wearing that helmet. If not for that, he wouldn't have survived the head trauma. As it is, he has a pretty bad concussion. We're doing all we can for him. It's just going to take time."

"Time, Doctor, is something we don't have in abundance. Lieutenant Parker has some critical, time-sensitive intel. We need him awake, and coherent, as soon as humanly possible."

"I understand that, sir, and I'm sorry. I just don't know what else I... Unless..." She turned to Carter, "Sam?"

"Janet?" Carter looked at her quizzically, and then it dawned on her. "You want me to use the Goa'uld healing device."

"I've done pretty much all I can. I might be able to bring him around with drugs, but it would be risky, and I couldn't vouch for his mental state."

"I can try, but I can't guarantee anything. I don't really know as much as I'd like to about using it. Healing Cronus might've been a fluke; his symbiote could've had something to do with it."

"Right now," Hammond said, "Major, we don't have a lot of options. Do what you can."

"Yes, sir." Carter said, leaving to retrieve the alien device.

"Gentlemen," Hammond said to the remaining members of SG1, "I have preparations to make. We all need to be ready when our guests arrive."

As Daniel and Teal'c left, Hammond stopped Jack.

"Colonel, see to it that Major Carter takes a break. This has to be even harder on her, because she has some connection to this man, Parker, and his people."

"Yes, sir. By the way, do we know what that connection is?"

"Not now, Jack. I'll see you at the briefing."

"Of course, sir."

* * *

><p>An Airman escorted two men and a woman into the conference room. Hammond, Jack, Daniel, and Teal'c were waiting there.<p>

"General Hammond, this is Doctor Bradley Talmadge, Doctor Olga Vukavitch, and Doctor Isaac Mentnor."

"Welcome to Stargate Command." Hammond said, as he shook their hands. "Let me introduce Colonel Jack O'Neill, Doctor Daniel Jackson, and Teal'c."

"Thank you, General. You'll be wanting these." Talmadge said, handing Hammond a manila envelope.

"And our NDAs for your records." Hammond said, offering an identical envelope to Talmadge.

"General," Olga spoke up, "I would like to go directly to your infirmary. I am the closest thing Lieutenant Parker has to a personal physician."

"Of course, Doctor. Airman Boone will escort you." He turned to Daniel, "Doctor Jackson, would you brief our guests about our operation?"

Daniel stepped over to the bank of windows along one wall, and motioned for them to join him.

"That," he pointed out the window, "Is a Stargate. It allows almost instantaneous travel to Stargates on other planets. The Stargates were built, by a race called the Ancients, many thousands of years ago. After the Ancients were out of the picture, a parasitic race known as the Goa'uld started using the Stargate Network to enslave worlds and set themselves up as gods. Our Stargate was discovered in 1928, in Egypt. From there it made its way to the States. There were years of experiments done on it, until it was made operational a couple of years ago. Since then, we've used it for exploration and planetary security."

Isaac stared at the stone ring for a moment before asking, "Were they experimenting with it during WWII?"

"Yes, they were."

"Do you know if there was a man named Ernest Littlefield involved with those experiments?"

"I believe there was." Daniel wasn't sure how much to reveal so soon. "Did you know him?"

"Not as well as I would've liked. From what I could gather, he had great potential. Then he just seemed to drop off the face of the Earth."

"Well," Daniel started, but then caught the look Hammond was throwing him, "We'll talk later, Doctor."

"Doctor Talmadge," Hammond said, "Why don't you brief us on your operation?"

"I don't know. My visual presentation isn't nearly as impressive."

They all took seats at the conference table, and Talmadge took a folder out of his briefcase.

"Project Backstep was made possible by salvaged wreckage from the 1947 Roswell crash. Using a hybrid of that alien technology and our own, we are able to send a man, a Chrononaut, back in time seven days."

"Excuse me?" Jack leaned forward in his chair. "You've got reliable time travel technology? Why aren't we using that to fix some of the crap the Goa'uld did in the past?"

"Sorry, Colonel, but we can't. We're limited by our power source. As I said, we can only go back seven days. Since the power source will one day be depleted, a panel decides which 'incidents' justify its use."

"Well, that sucks."

"You have no idea." Talmadge took something out of the folder in front of him. "This," he said, holding up an 8x10 photograph showing a blue orb made up of mostly hexagons, "Is the vehicle used by the Chrononaut. We call it 'The Sphere', for obvious reasons. If you need to know how it all works, you'll have to ask Isaac. I only know enough to be dangerous."

"If he explains things the way Carter does," Jack said, "I'll just settle for 'It goes back in time'."

Talmadge turned to Hammond, "I suppose that brings us to where you came in, General. Somehow Frank's Backstep got fouled-up with your Stargate. Until he regains consciousness, we can only guess why I sent him back."

"Then," Hammond said, looking around the table, "If there aren't any questions..."


End file.
